The following memo was sent to Duke leaders and managers on Tuesday, March 10.
TO: Vice Presidents, Vice Provosts, Deans, Directors, Department Heads, and Managers
FROM: Kyle Cavanaugh, Vice President, Administration, Emergency Coordinator
Rhonda Brandon, Chief HR Officer, Duke University Health System
SUBJECT: (Workplace) Considerations in Preparation for COVID-19
Duke’s leadership for the University and Health System is working closely to make all the necessary preparations to ensure the safety of our community, prevent the potential spread of COVID-19 on campus, and treat patients who may come to our facilities for care.
We have prepared a detailed Question-and-Answer document to address frequent work-related questions that have come up regarding how Duke will respond to COVID-19. They include a range of issues from travel restrictions, addressing symptoms/sickness, recording time, and working remotely. We will continue to update and add to this list as needed. Please review this information and share it with your staff.
While there are only few reported cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina and no confirmed cases reported at Duke, we are considering contingency plans should we begin to see a rapid increase in cases locally. These plans include the potential of more staff working remotely, where possible. While we will always need staff on-site to ensure continuation of critical operations, we ask all managers to give consideration now to the following:
• which operations require on-site support for student services, patient care and continuation of critical research activity, and
• which operations could be done remotely.
We ask that our managers remain flexible in considering if and how staff might be able to complete their work remotely, if needed.
Thank you for all you are doing to help position Duke to respond and support our students, patients, research facilities and the broader community. During times like these, your leadership and extraordinary effort makes all the difference.